Morning Thoughts

The first few days of fall here in Phoenix bring the promise of cooler, more pleasant weather. Morning before sunrise is wonderful right now. The air is cool, mostly crisp. Last night’s storms added just a little humidity so it feels very nice. But even the evenings are becoming more tolerable. Once the sun goes down, the temperature drops; I can walk outside without feeling like I’m in an oven. I always considered October to be the most hopeful month in Phoenix, with daytime temperatures dropping to the double digits and knowledge that the Big Heat is gone for about six months.

Not that this summer has been at all unpleasant. Even when temperatures were at their highest, I was far more comfortable than in previous years. I’m sure that part of my reaction was due to the fact that I avoided being outside for any length of time between noon and sundown. Whatever I had to do outside got done in the morning starting at 4:00 am. Afternoons were for sleep and inside activities.

I think, too, that my perspective has changed. Two years ago I spent July and August walking from Virginia to New Hampshire. The heat, the humidity and the the effort needed to keep walking wore me out physically and mentally. I found the east coast summer to be every bit as ugly as a Phoenix summer. So now that I am back in the desert, this summer doesn’t seem so bad. I won’t complain.

One of the things I most enjoy about Phoenix summers is getting up early, well before dawn, and walking. If I’m going to be outside, before dawn is the time to do it. The city is wonderfully quiet. Few others are about, offering me a rare opportunity for solitude. The streets are empty–I can cross at will and don’t have thundering traffic noise to drown out the mourning doves calling and roosters crowing. I saw a coyote loping down the street one morning. Another morning I saw a screech owl. Once the sun is up the wild creatures disappear. The houses have a snug, comfortable feel; their occupants still asleep in their beds. Safe in their own space.

The sky above still glimmers with stars (some stars, at least); Venus shines brightly in the eastern sky before sunup. Saturn is now well above Venus. It’s a time to remember my place in the universe (very small, wholly insignificant) and the miracle of my being (completely improbable), a time to remember all the blessings of life. Everything is possible in the morning.

Walking in the morning also takes me back to my AT thru-hike experience. During much of that hike, I was up before sunrise and walking at first light. I did it to beat the heat at first, trying to knock off as many miles as I could before noon. But walking in the early morning was so pleasant that I began to look forward to those first few hours when the light was soft, the day still cool and I was alone on the trail. So it’s not surprising that I adopted the same strategy for Phoenix summer heat.

The morning is a time to let my mind wander, to not concern myself with affairs or politics or current events. It is a time when I can marvel at my good fortune, at being alive, in good health and among good company. What more can I ask of life?